Our June meeting was a great success!  I received a number of compliments from the membership on the June program, including the facility and the food! Comments included, “Great meeting” and ”I really enjoyed the discussion and sharing of ideas”.  One newcomer to the industry shared that this was her first meeting and it helped her understand the relocation industry on a broader scale, and how her particular service function fits within the relocation process. She said, “The knowledge and experience in that room was incredible.” We are excited by the growth of our membership and we will work to continue providing value to all the corporations, government agencies, and service providers involved in our group. I’m looking forward to the next meeting in September - hope to see you there!

The educational session was titled, “Charting the Course for Policy Success”. The session was led by Sandy Taraszki, Executive Director of Worldwide ERC Coalition. Panel members were Russ Haynie, Prudential; Connie Bullock, Hewitt Mobility; Tom Higgins, SIRVA; and Angie Gilbreath, Primacy Relocation.  The presentation focused on the new pressures that corporations and government agencies are facing with the current real estate market. Creative policy ideas and solutions were discussed to chart the course for policy success.  A copy of the presentation is available here: charting-the-course-presentation.pdf

APRIL 2008

The first GWERC meeting of 2008 was held on April 10th at the ATF headquarters, located at 99 New York Avenue, NW in Washington, DC.  The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. by President, Pam Silvis-Zelasko. Silvis introduced the 2008 Board and discussed the rules of conduct for the organization. Members were asked to volunteer to serve on various committees and suggest meeting topic ideas.

Industry updates were provided by Paul Dixon for Transportation/Household Goods and John Ryan for Real Estate. Julie Blanford and MaryAnne Sykes provided the Government update.

An Educational Program was provided by Michael Nasr from Countrywide Bank, Dreama Ross from Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, and Karl Verell from Prudential Relocation.  View the presentations here:

overcoming-payment-challenges.pdf

short-sales.pdf

the-housing-market-and-mortgage-trends.pdf

DECEMBER 2007 

The annual Holiday Luncheon was held on December 14, 2007 at Oakwood Worldwide in Falls Church, VA. After the opening comments and industry updates, President Laura Biggs presented a Donation to the ERC Coalition on behalf of GWERC. Dick Mansfield from ERC accepted the donation and provided a tax and legal update.

The motivational speaker was Gregg Gregory who provided an interactive session on “Getting Everyone to  Play Nice in the Sandbox” which focused on the important differences between work groups and work teams, as well as the impact each member has on the overall team performance and productivity.

Elections for the 2008 Board were held and donations were accepted for the Toys for Tots Program.